Buonarroti, Michelangelo( 1475 – 1564 )
Base/molding profile studies for San Lorenzo (Basi di pilastro per la Sagreetia Nuova, scritte
autografe), c. 1520 – 1525 , Fondazione Casa Buonarroti, 10 A recto, 28.321.4cm, Red chalk,
pen and ink (Sanguigna, penna)Probably the most influential high Renaissance/mannerist architect, the design thinking used by
Michelangelo was continually affected by his roles as a sculptor, painter, and architect. During the
Renaissance, it was common for architects to use the human body as analogy (especially concerning
proportion and geometry), but Michelangelo’s theory of architecture looked instead to metaphors
involving bodies moving in space and sculptural forms revealing shadow and light. Trained in
anatomy, Michelangelo viewed architecture as more than external appearances; rather the movement
in his architecture can be compared to nerve and muscle systems (Ackerman, 1961 ).
Michelangelo Buonarroti was born in Caprese, 1475. He began early in his life as a painter being
apprenticed to the Florentine Ghirlandaio. Throughout his life, he was patronized by both the
Medici family and the Church. He also received commissions from Pope Julius II in the Sistine
Chapel and, later, from Leo X, Clement VII, and Paul III. In addition to his numerous sculptural and
painting projects, his architectural projects include the Façade of San Lorenzo, the Medici Family
Mausoleum, the Biblioteca Laurenziana, and Fortifications in Florence, the Palazzo dei Conservatori
and the Palazzo dei Senatore on Capitoline Hill (Wittkower, 1980 ; Wallace, 1998 ; Summers, 1981 ;
Murray, 1963 , 1978 ).
In this freehand sketch (Figure 1.5) can be seen the design of bases for columns at San Lorenzo,
resembling templates used to construct molding profiles. At the same time, Michelangelo was carica-
turing a human profile. It may be possible to speculate that after drawing these bases several times,
Michelangelo saw that they began to resemble a human face, so he hooked the nose slightly and
added an eye. A few quick lines were enough to complete the figure in a surprisingly recognizable
way. The eye and the hook on the nose are in the same tone of sanquine, and with the same hand
pressure, so one can conclude that they were completed simultaneously with the profiles, rather than
being a later addition.
It is unlikely Michelangelo originally intended to reference the human body with this design, but
once he recognized the resemblance he could not resist completing the imagery. In the collection
of sketches at the Casa Buonarroti, many sheets of his architectural details were drawn on the same
pages as figure studies. Considering the culture of the Renaissance studio, drawings may have floated
from hand to hand so that he might pick up the closest piece of paper with a blank spot and con-
tinue to draw, revealing an interesting crossover between the figure and architecture. It is interest-
ing to contemplate that he saw little difference in the conceptual design of architecture as compared
to studies of the human form.
This sketch contains numerous qualities distinctive of caricature. The imagination of the carica-
turist demonstrates techniques of transformation and condensation to expose the true personality of
their subjects (Kris and Gombrich, 1938 ). The transformation of features relies on the ability to rec-
ognize that ‘resemblance is a prerequisite of caricature’ (Kris, 1934 , p. 298 ). It depends upon
metaphors; it is the likeness, altered, to reveal related traits through visual allusion.
The action of adding human anatomy to a sketch is particularly interesting considering
Michelangelo’s theories, as most other architects would not have made similar mental connections.
Here, though, the caricature involves a likeness, rather than the organic quality evident in his archi-
tecture. Since Michelangelo thoroughly understood the principles of disegno, it is possible to pre-
sume that his memories and imagination carried across disciplines.H5719-Ch01.qxd 7/15/05 3:18 PM Page 33